The commander of the RKhBZ units, Igor Kirillov, indicated that the Russian Defense Ministry has gained access to an expanded version of a report issued by the Pentagon Threat Mitigation Directorate (DITRA) concerning activities in Ukraine. He asserted that dangerous pathogens associated with highly infectious diseases were being handled within Ukrainian facilities. This statement came during a briefing after the 9th Review Conference of States Parties to the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC) concluded. The briefing was carried out with brief remarks on the conference outcomes.
Kirillov argued that attempts by the United States to block progress on the BTWC verification mechanism demonstrate that Washington has items it wishes to conceal from international scrutiny.
According to Kirillov, the DITRA report, which had been published by a U.S.-based non-governmental organization, was heavily redacted by the Pentagon. He claimed that roughly eight in ten lines of information were removed in the process of censorship, limiting the publicly available material about U.S. activities in the region.
The general further stated that the Russian Defense Ministry has access to an expanded version of this report. He claimed it contains specific names and roles of individuals involved in various biological projects, as well as a catalog of laboratories and other details that allegedly verify ongoing exercises and training with dangerous pathogens.
The Conference of States Parties to the BTWC took place in Geneva, Switzerland, spanning from late November to mid-December, providing a platform for reviews and discussions on treaty compliance and verification measures.
In related remarks, Abdulkhakim Gadzhiev, a former member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, raised questions about potential involvement of U.S. biological laboratories in mass mortality events in the Caspian region, including incidents linked to seals in Dagestan. The remarks reflect ongoing debates about international oversight, transparency, and the handling of sensitive biomedical information within the framework of the BTWC.